One life to live
by Branir
Summary: This story is about Scias from BOFIV, its about his past and how he came to be a mercenary, later chapters will go into what he did after the end of BOFIV, possible spoilers so read at own risk. R&R please, I hope to make this a good one.
1. Prologe

I was emotionless  
  
Others looked upon me as one without feeling  
  
I certainly looked the part  
  
Yet there was part of me that wasn't like that  
  
Deep down I was a thinker  
  
But things one hides inside themself is not often reflected on the outside   
  
I was a mercenary  
  
These feelings are seen as a weakness  
  
In our field of expertice  
  
There is no right or wrong,   
  
Ones morals had nothing to do with it  
  
The life I led was a lonly one  
  
Perhaps all I needed were companions  
  
But people like I don't work well with others  
  
My outer shell is a terrible person with no cares but himself  
  
When I attempted to make my opinion audible  
  
I would stutter  
  
Not quite knowing what to say  
  
People like me weren't ment to befriend others,  
  
We are born into this world as if we were the last of our race  
  
Everyday is a struggle,  
  
Our minds fight over the same idea,  
  
Do I care or no?  
  
I could never really tell what my own opinion was  
  
I would think something one moment and another the next  
  
My employers eased my unsure thoughts with a gold coin or two,  
  
With this I continued on without question,  
  
Something that I shouldn't have done  
  
After all  
  
What is all the money in the world to me if I can't enjoy it,  
  
The guilt of my wrong doing would follow me no matter where I hid  
  
Naturally  
  
Being someone thats done wrong his whole life  
  
I almost didn't belive it when I did something right  
  
To be truthful I still don't  
  
But now I have broken the curse   
  
I have made allies  
  
I am part of an ever growing family  
  
None of us are perfect  
  
The Gods be thanked for that  
  
I do belive that these friends of mine will lead me in the right direction.  
  
We will get lost along the way  
  
But we'll find a way around it  
  
With them I will be able to use my sword the way I should have in the beginning  
  
I have found my way out of that terrible hole  
  
I will take my vengence now  
  
But in a way that I was ment to take it  
  
Not by killing those that I do not know  
  
I will no longer shed the blood of those that are uninvolved  
  
But by finding the one who started it all  
  
The one who killed my tribe, the Forest Clan   
  
I am Scias  
  
I am one of the six that set right the wrongs of an entire world  
  
At the very least   
  
That proves that I am strong enough to correct my own 


	2. Fall of the Forest Clan

(Disclaimer: Don't own BOF, wish I did but I don't. )  
  
Scias sat calmly on the edge of his cliff, watching the waves break against the rocks below him. Today was the start of the week of harvest, a day that all members of the Forest tribe awaited with every coming year. There was always plenty to do during the week of the harvest, everyone was always in a good mood and working hard. The sooner that everyone finished work, the sooner the fun would begin. Scias' family farm was the smallest, so they always tended to finish the first day.   
  
Scias was around 10 years old and his fur was light brown and white on his chest. His robes were black and the lining was dark blue. His bangs were rather wild and tended to cover his eyes, which were hazel. He had grown faster than normal for his race and was just a few inches shorter than his father. Because of the sudden change in height he was a little clumsy. But, ones height was looked upon as a sign of power in the Forest tribe. Scias did admit that he was stronger than all the other boys his age in the village, and some of those that were older than he was.  
  
This was because his older brother trained him using some of the older forms of swordplay. Gaijuin was Scias' brother and leader of the tribe's rangers. They would go on patrols to near by towns and were used as a form of communication, in some cases, protection. Gaijuin didn't know it, but his younger brother looked up to him. Scias looked forward to becoming a ranger himself one day, but for now he was a simple farm boy.   
  
Scias stood and dusted himself off, then began through the trees to his home. The forest that surrounded the village was very thick, there were almost no clearings at all. A few of the tribes leaders had built their houses in the trees but most of them could be found on the forest floor, sometimes with trees going right through them. The trees served as a good way of keeping unwanted visitors out of the area. Just south of them was the tomb of the First Imperial emperor, Fou-Lu the God emperor. The ghost stories about that place, usually kept all intruders away.   
  
Upon reaching his home, Scias noticed something different. He could hear no birds, and not only that but his father had abandoned his vegetables without cleaning them. He looked all through his house but couldn't find his mother or his father. In the den floor was an unfinished clay pot, something that his mom had been making for the festival that was coming up in a few days.  
  
" P-perhaps .... they w ... went into town." he said aloud, attempting to calm his suspicion. Scias may have been a strong boy, but his stutter was something he could not control. He left his house after grabbing his father's katana out of the trunk in the hall. He quickly made his way to town square, where many people gathered when there was nothing else to do. Then he slowed his pace, he remembered something his brother had told him, " When in a crisis, always keep yourself hidden, don't alert the enemy of your presents. Wait, wait and watch for your opportunity to strike." his brothers advise was not to be taken likely, so Scias decided a slow, cautious approach to this matter would be better than rushing into something.   
  
The closer that Scias drew to the town square the more fearful he became. He could hear screams now, and in the distance he saw a trail of smoke. " N-- no!" he cried, his pace quickening. He finally reached the row of houses that surrounded his destination. Tears began to run down his cheeks at what he saw. The cobble-stoned street was covered in a layer of blood, in the center of everything was the fountain, around which unmoving bodies of his loved ones lay. Soldiers, in imperial uniforms wielded sword and spears, their faces splattered with blood. Amongst the fighting rangers, Scias recognized his brother, Impaled in his right shoulder with a spear and another in his gut.   
  
Scias couldn't move, his muscles were frozen in place. Moments later the soldiers left, leaving no reason, or clue as to why this was done. The last one to leave was a Captain, a man with blonde hair, with him was a large armored spirit. " Come Joh, there is much work to be done!" Laughed the Captain, returning the spirit to a card he held in his hand. With that the man disappeared into the smoke. Scias ran out into the street and kneeled beside his brother.   
  
" Gai... Gaijuin, what h ... happened? W...why they here. " He said, still crying. He couldn't understand how his brother could be defeated so easily.   
  
Gaijuin, with his last ounce of strength reached out his hand to his brothers face and said, " Find General Russo, he did this. He did the same to the Grass Runner clan, avenge us brother. Grow stronger . . . do what I could not."   
  
A howl of agony escaped Scias' lips as his once powerful brother spoke for the last time. Scias grabbed hold of his brother's blood soaked tunic and pulled his limp body up a bit. " No! D--on't leave me b ... brother!" he cried, sorrowfully.   
  
He stood silently, the fur on his face wet with tears and his robes with blood. Now he was alone. Then it occurred to him. His name meant ' the last ' in the ancient language, not exactly something that he thought about too often. But now it certainly seemed to mean something. 


	3. Search

The streets of Chedo were crowded with people moving from one store to the next. A short blonde haired man with a large sack thrown over his shoulder pushed his way through. He sighted his guilds designated building and rushed inside. Setting the pack down on a wooden table in the center of the room he gasped, happy to have rid himself of the heavy burden. After a few moments, the man let out a whistle, and eleven men filed into the room from a door that was opposite the entrance. All of them gathered around the table, eagerly awaiting the sack's contents. The man leapt up on the table and opened the bag. He pulled out a few pieces of clothing and threw them to the ground. The next item retrieved from the bag made all the men in the room smile.   
  
The short man grinned as he handed the pistol to a shirtless fat man that was standing closest to him. The fat man examined the gun to make sure it wasn't a toy of some kind. He nodded in approval and set the gun on the table. The short man continued pulling out weapons of all sorts, most of them were guns. When the bag was empty the short man jumped off the table and stood amongst the others. Every weapon on the table was for military use only. Several of the men standing around the table began picking up the weapons and admired them. On hand grasped the handle of the only sword on the table, then withdrew from the crowd. The fat man, who was now speaking with the short man smiled, but not for long. His face soon turned to one of horror. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. "Where did the guild master go?" asked on of the men who had been playing with the guns.  
  
The room went quiet and everyone began to look around. The short man looked extremely confused. He felt a drop of water or something hit his nose and he touched it to see what it was. What he saw man him stop breathing and he looked up at the ceiling having no doubt as to what was causing the 'leak'. "Eeeeeek!" squealed the man falling on his backside. Everyone else looked at him, then followed his gaze to what was once their guild master. He was pinned to the ceiling by a sword that was once on the table.  
  
"The hell?" yelled a strong looking man in confusion.   
  
"What sort of joke is this?" asked another. A scrawny looking man beside him gulped, ran out of the room and into the back of the guildhall, his arms flailing above his head. Immediately after he disappeared he flew back though the door and onto the table, breaking it in half. Blood flowed from a large gash in his chest, covering the floor. The man died looking into the eyes of the strong man who was standing over him. The strong man scrambled backwards trying to make it out the entrance, but he was only about halfway when a tall hooded figure with dark green robes stepped out of the shadows and trusted his katana into the frightened mans skull. He let go of the sword leaving it in the dead man. Slowly he approached the table, several of the men held out their guns preparing to fire. The dark figure disappeared and yet another man along with him.  
  
The short man, who was still on the floor fainted when the saw the man with the katana in his head. Everyone else had forgotten him and was busy searching franticly for the dark figure aiming their guns at anything that moved. Suddenly a figure appeared in the doorway opposite to the entrance. Half of them fired their weapons,"No wait!" cried the man in the doorway just before the bullets hit him. He stumbled into the room and collapsed on the floor, blood seeping from bullet wounds in his chest, forehead, and right shoulder.   
  
Everyone was carelessly staring at the dead body, all but one that is. The man was holding two pistols and was in the left corner closest to the entrance. "Come and get me you bastard!" he yelled, directing everyone's attention to him. He searched the room for movement but found his eyes stopping on the man that died with a katana in his head. The katana was missing. The man shuddered and looked up just in time to see the hilt of the katana between his eyes, and feel its blade in his throat. The remaining six began firing their weapons at the dark figure but were too slow. They began reloading their weapons, except for one who was completely out.  
  
" Someone gimme some ammo damnit!" he yelled when he felt a swift breeze pass him. One man held out his hand, which offered two bullets. The other ran to him to get the ammo but tripped. In a flash, the shadowy figure landed on the fallen man's neck, breaking it, and with a swing of his katana he sheathed it and disappeared once more. The man who had offered out his hand found that his hand had literally been taken graciously from his arm and was on the ground. He didn't have time to scream because the katana was in and out of his side almost instantly, killing him. Another man who was having trouble reloading his gun cursed and threw the weapon away. He noticed the dark figure standing in front of his just as the katana entered his stomach. He cried out in pain, falling to the ground like a puppet.   
  
He figure approached the last three who where aiming their guns at him. He simply kicked one man out of the way and slid to the ground, slicing another's legs off. The man who he had kicked to the ground found himself impaled in the chest. Now there was only one left. He fired his gun but got nervous and his aim was way off. The figure slashed the man down the middle, splitting his entire body in half.  
  
The figure removed his hood and sheathed his hood as he approached the fainted short man. He reached down and lifted the man by his shirt collar and slapped him a couple times. Slowly the man came to and saw the man who had awakened him. "Thank goodness you're here! Me and my friends here were attacked by a ruthless assassin! I thank you for saving me!" exclaimed the man clutching Scias's robes. Scias simply gave the man a toothy grin and pulled him closer.  
  
"T .... Tell me w... where Russo ... is." he stuttered 


End file.
